


Dark Souls and Dark Minds

by unofficialfansie



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, As in everyone is a different supernatural being, F/F, Fairies, Gen, It Makes Sense When You Read It, M/M, Necromancers, Romance, Slow Burn, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 15:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15609063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unofficialfansie/pseuds/unofficialfansie
Summary: At age 17, Jack Kelly discovered he could raise the dead. Now he's being sent to a school filled with people like him, with no idea what to expect. (Also the title is absolutely terrible, so if anyone has any suggestions as to what I should change it to please let me know!)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is so self-indulgent it's ridiculous. Quick warning, there is a somewhat vivid description of a dead body in this chapter so please proceed with caution.

Rain pounded unceasingly at the windows of the car, the sound akin to someone banging on a drum. Jack Kelly stared at the water flooding down the window in torrents, his expression despondent as he contemplated where he was going.

 

Miss Medda Larkin eyed him in the rearview mirror, her dark brown eyes full of concern. “We’re almost there, honey. Only a couple more miles.”

 

Jack grunted in response, shrugging his shoulders noncommittally as he continued to avoid eye contact and stare out of the window. It had been raining like this last week, too. On the day he went to visit his mother.

 

_Jack was soaking wet by the time he reached the church, his hair so wet that it was plastered to his skull._

 

_Entering the graveyard to the right side of the church he wove in and out of the rows of graves, his feet traversing the familiar path with ease. Finally, he reached the small stone in the back corner of the yard. His mother._

 

_Kneeling down in front of the grave Jack ran his hand over the words inscribed on the stone._ Jacqueline Marie Kelly. 1974-2012. May She Rest Always At Peace. _Taking off his backpack and setting it on the ground in front of him Jack unzipped it and reached inside, pulling out a small bouquet of tulips which looked decidedly worse for wear after being stuffed inside a small bag all day. Jack didn’t seem to mind, however, and he set the flowers on the grave with a loving smile._

 

_“Heya Mom,” Jack said softly after a minute of silence, his voice barely audible above the sound of the rain falling. “Happy birthday.”_

 

_The grave didn’t answer but Jack kept talking, as sincerely as if his mother had truly been standing before him. “I got a B on my math test today, and Cassidy talked ta me a little at lunch.” He paused, trying to think of more things to say. “Mr. O’Malley told me that I could probably get a scholarship ta art school if I submit a portfolio by April 23rd, and I think I’m gonna do it. Dad hasn’t gotten drunk at all this week, an’ he remembered ta give me money for lunch today.”_

 

_Jack’s eyes suddenly grew dark at the mention of his father, and he gripped a fistful of grass tightly. “Dad told me somethin’ else last night. He-he told me he’s gonna marry Erica, in September.” Jack choked back a sob as he suddenly burst into tears. “He’s tryin’ to forget you, Mom, even though he won’t admit it!” he exclaimed. “He’s tryin’ ta make it seem as though you never existed!”_

 

_Jack sniffed and lowered his head as tears ran down his face, his voice suddenly a whisper again. “I wish you was here, Mom.”_

 

_As Jack spoke those fateful words something in the air around him changed, and he could feel all of his anger, sadness, and fear draining out of him and into the ground. Even the rain seemed to have quieted ever so slightly._

 

_A half-decomposed hand suddenly shot up out of the ground in front of him, the smell of damp earth and rotting flesh accompanying it. Jack jumped up with a scream, clutching his backpack to his chest and shaking with shock and pure terror._

 

_His mother was crawling out of her grave. As Jack watched, rooted to the spot in horror, what was left of her left hand and arm appeared followed by her shoulder and part of her chest. A few seconds later her other arm shot up out of the ground followed by her head, torso, and legs._

 

_Jack watched as his mother writhed on the ground, clearly in some kind of pain. “Mom?” he managed to squeak after a few minutes._

 

_His mother’s head shot up in response, and Jack nearly passed out. Her face was half rotted flesh and half skeleton, like something out of_ The Walking Dead. _Her eyes were the worst, though, in that she had none. Pitch black eye sockets glared up at Jack, no possible recognition present in them._

 

_Jack swallowed hard, feeling himself begin to shake even more violently. “Mom is that you?”_

 

_His mother growled a low, inhuman growl, and suddenly Jack’s fight or flight response kicked in. He suddenly knew that whatever this thing was it wasn’t his mother, not anymore. And so he finally turned and ran, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Jack ran until he reached his house, and then he ran inside and up to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him._

 

_Jack stayed in his room for three days, refusing to leave even to get food. And then, in the evening on the fourth day, they came for him._

 

Jack was jolted back to the present when the car rolled to a stop and Miss Medda killed the engine, looking over at Jack with a cheery smile that seemed out of place in this situation. “Welcome to Pulitzer Academy, Jack.”

 

Jack didn’t respond, he simply stared up at the building’s imposing facade with an unreadable expression on his face, his mouth hanging open ever so slightly.

 

Pulitzer Academy looked more like a Medieval castle than a school, with turrets and gargoyles jutting out from what looked like every possible surface. It looked cold and uninviting, and Jack suddenly felt like he was being watched.

 

Medda chuckled at his expression, opening the door and getting out of the car holding a big black umbrella. “I know, it takes some getting used to. I think you’ll like it inside, though. Come on!”

 

Jack wordlessly opened the door and got out of the car, not trusting himself to speak. Miss Medda walked over to him and held the umbrella over his head, shielding both of them from the rain. “Come on, I’ll walk you inside. The others are having dinner now, so it’s a good time to introduce you.”

 

Jack followed close beside Miss Medda, an uneasy expression on his face. “The others?”

 

Medda regarded Jack with an amused expression. “You didn’t think you were the only student here, did you?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings for this chapter, unless you're uncomfortable with vampires drinking blood. Also if anyone reading this is a fan of Twilight, I'm sorry.

Once he stepped inside Pulitzer Academy Jack could see why Miss Medda had said he would like it. The inside was extremely different from the outside, warm and inviting with all kinds of modern amenities like electricity, computers, and a television set. And all that was just what Jack could see from where he was standing in the front hall.

 

“I told you,” Miss Medda said with a wry smile and a wink, placing her umbrella in a stand near the front door before gesturing for Jack to follow her down a hallway just off of the entryway. “Come on, the dining room’s this way.”

 

Jack tore his eyes away from all of the gadgets he had been looking at and followed her, gazing around him in wonder. The hallway was lined with portraits of men and women, who were all wearing black graduation gowns and had serious looks on their faces.

 

“Old students,” Miss Medda said in response to Jack’s unspoken question. “All the way back to Joseph Pulitzer himself, who founded the school in 1820.”

 

Jack looked to where Miss Medda was gesturing and was met with the sight of a portrait which depicted an older man with a stern, eternally disapproving expression on his face.

 

“Joseph Pulitzer believed in embracing one’s powers,” Miss Medda continued as she led Jack past polished wood doors which Jack was sure were locked. “So he created a school where young supernaturals could learn control before being released back into society.”

 

“Supernaturals?” Jack asked, feeling slightly dazed by all of this new information.

 

“Those with supernatural powers,” Medda explained. “There are fewer and fewer these days, though. What with all of the marriages to humans, most traits have been bred out.”

 

“Hang on, then how come I can do what I can do?” Jack asked. “Neither ‘a my parents can.”

 

“No, they can’t,” Miss Medda agreed. “But your paternal grandfather could. He attended this school, too.”

 

“He did?” Jack asked, surprised. He had never met his father’s father, had never even seen pictures of him. His father hadn’t mentioned him once, to Jack’s knowledge.

 

“He did,” Miss Medda said. “But when your father displayed no signs of possessing supernatural abilities, we thought you wouldn’t either. Obviously, we were wrong.”

 

Jack was about to ask another question when Miss Medda stopped abruptly before a large pair of doors. She flashed Jack a quick smile. “Are you ready?”

 

Jack didn’t feel remotely ready, but he knew it would do no good to protest. He nodded quickly.

 

Miss Medda pushed open the doors with a flourish, revealing a brightly lit room with six other teenagers sitting around a large table in the center of it, all of them chatting with each other as they ate.

 

Miss Medda clapped her hands twice to get their attention, and everyone abruptly stopped talking and looked over at her and Jack with curious expressions on their faces.

 

“Everyone, this is Jack Kelly, our new student. Please tell him everything he needs to know and help him get used to living here.”

 

With that Miss Medda turned on her heel and exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Jack alone. Jack swallowed hard, suddenly terrified as everyone scrutinized him.

 

After what felt like hours of standing in front of everyone a boy with a mess of blonde curls grinned lopsidedly at Jack, waving him over. “Don’ just stand there, come an’ eat!”

 

Upon hearing this invitation Jack slowly made his way over to an empty seat at the table, next to a kid with sandy blonde hair which was tucked under a backward baseball cap and across from a girl with dark brown hair and eyes who was sat next to a boy with the same hair and eyes. Once he was seated everyone returned to eating, though there was no talking now.

 

The girl sitting across from him smiled at Jack, sticking out her hand for him to shake. “Sarah Jacobs. It’s nice to meet you.”

 

“Nice ta meet you too,” Jack said, hesitantly taking her hand and shaking it.

 

“This is my brother David, and that’s Charlie,” Sarah said after another moment of awkward silence, gesturing to the boy sitting next to her and the boy sitting next to Jack.

 

“Hi,” David said softly, nodding at Jack politely but not smiling.

 

“Nice ta meet ya,” the boy next to Jack said, grinning.

 

“You too,” Jack answered, smiling nervously at each of them.

 

The boy who had originally invited Jack over to the table spoke up next. “I’se Anthony, but you can call me Race. An’ this is my boyfriend, Spot.” He gestured at a muscular boy sitting next to him who was ignoring everyone as he shoved food into his mouth.

 

“And I’m Katherine,” a girl with auburn hair which fell in loose waves across her shoulders said, offering Jack a tight smile.

 

“Nice ta meet you, Katherine,” Jack said, then he looked down at his hands.

 

The table was quiet except for the sound of everyone taking bites of their food for a few minutes after that until Race suddenly spoke. “I’m a vampire.”

 

Jack looked up suddenly in surprise. “What?”

 

“You was wonderin’ what type of creatures all of us are, an’ I was answerin’,” Race stated matter-of-factly, taking a sip of his red drink which Jack realized with a jolt was probably blood. “I’m a vampire.”

 

“Like, in movies?” Jack asked, suddenly feeling very out of place.

 

“He doesn’t sparkle in sunlight, if that’s what you’se askin’,” Spot said, sounding exasperated.

 

“Oh. Uh, okay,” Jack said, nodding in understanding.

 

“I’m a witch and David’s a wizard,” Sarah offered after a moment of tense silence.

 

“Cool,” Jack said, struggling to come up with a proper response for what he was being told.

 

“I’m what humans call a ‘fairy’,” Charlie said. “An’ Spot’s a werewolf.”

 

Jack nodded at each of these revelations, then smiled softly at Spot and Race as a thought flashed into his mind. “Aren’t you two dating?”

 

“Yeah, why?” Spot asked. “You don’ got a problem with that, do ya?”

 

“No,” Jack answered, completely deadpan. “But I just thought that werewolves an’ vampires hated each other.”

 

Spot stared at Jack with a blank look on his face for a long moment before sighing heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose and looking both tired and annoyed. “One of these days I’m gonna kill whoever wrote those damn books,” he muttered.

 

Race chuckled and took another sip of his drink before speaking. “What about you?”

 

Jack’s smile faded, and he looked down at the polished wood of the table. After a minute he shrugged. “I dunno if there’s a word for it but, uh, I can-I can raise the dead.”

 

“Necromancer,” David said, suddenly looking both impressed and fascinated by Jack. “Those are rare nowadays.”

 

Jack didn’t answer, and the table once again fell into a tense silence until Charlie finally spoke. “Why don’t I show you to your room, Jack?”

 

Jack looked up at Charlie, smiling gratefully. “Thanks, Charlie. I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really appreciated the amount of positive feedback I got for the last chapter, so please don't hesitate to leave comments and kudos on this chapter as well. Thanks, guys!

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah. Jack's a necromancer who can raise the dead. Comment down below and tell me what supernatural beings you think the others are going to be! Thanks for reading!


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